PERFORMING ARTS

Flamenco Festival

A diverse program that told stories of passion, joy and despair through a refreshing combination of bold and understated works, the Eighth Annual Flamenco Festival kicked off Saturday at Lisner Auditorium with "Cuatro Esquinas." The program was a partnership among vocalists Carmen Linares and Miguel Poveda, guitarist Juan Carlos Romero and dancer Pastora Galv¿n, all natives of Spain.

In "Buenas Intenciones" and "Y en Medio el R¿o," Poveda sang to Galv¿n as she deftly and sensually swung an embellished white shawl around her body. Particularly when Galv¿n circled her wrists and swayed her hips, she exhibited a velvety yet commanding grace.

"La Gabriela" began with Galv¿n looking positively anxious as she sat on the edge of a chair with her back in a tense, straight posture and her eyes delivering a searing gaze. Linares rose from her seated position behind the microphone and stood closer to Galv¿n, making it seem as though the dancer was no longer the interpreter of the song but rather its subject. It appeared that Galv¿n connected very deeply to Linares's vocals, which seemed to evoke from her a more natural, expressive performance than her earlier pieces with Poveda.

In the closing work, "Fin de Fiesta," Galv¿n was dazzling. Not only did she abandon the meditative intensity of her earlier dancing for a more playful, enticing persona, she finally had the chance to fully display her virtuosity. As the musicians picked up speed and their rhythms became more complex, Galv¿n kept pace; her heels feverishly pounded the floor and her arms moved with sharpness and insistence.

The festival continues through Friday.

-- Sarah Halzack

Tarrus Riley

It's Black History Month. It's Reggae Month. And February is for lovers.

Tarrus Riley soulfully represented all three themes at his Saturday night (actually Sunday morning) concert at Crossroads.

The budding roots-reggae superstar, and son of vintage Jamaican crooner Jimmy Riley, presented a smooth mix of romantic tunes and smart cultural songs, mixing intelligence and emotion in perfect amounts. His tenor voice is as pure as the Caribbean Sea.

Backed by three female singers and the seven-piece Black Soil Band, which is led by saxophonist Dean Fraser and anchored by legendary bassist Glen Brown, Riley wended his way through 12 songs with supreme confidence. Starting the show at 1:55 a.m. in a black suit-and-shirt combo, a matching turban keeping his dreadlocks off his bespectacled face, Riley sang his anti-violence number "Beware," breaking it down in the middle to announce, "I'm not a gunman; I only fire musical shots." He kept the crowd in the palm of his "Lion Paw" (one of his finest songs) until a quarter to 3, when he finished with "My Baby (Cyaan Sleep)," a lovely ode to his daughter and parenthood.